Storing your shoes properly will help them look great and last for as many seasons as possible. Shoes need to be protected from dust, water, and sun so they don’t fade or warp while they’re in storage. Make sure you don’t stack them or throw them in a pile, since this can cause them to get misshapen. Store your shoes in their original boxes or in containers that will keep them looking new.

Steps

Part 1

Getting Shoes Ready for Storage

1

Clean the shoes. Storing shoes that have dirt, dust and other residues on them could cause the material the shoes are made from to degrade over time. This is especially true for shoes made of leather or suede, but all shoes benefit from being cleaned up before you store them. Even if you’re just storing your shoes for the night, and you’re planning on wearing them again tomorrow, it’s a good idea to clean them before you put them away. Let them dry before storing.

Clean leather and suede shoes by brushing off dirt and dust with a soft, non-scratchy brush. Use a special leather or suede cleaner to remove stains.

Clean canvas shoes by brushing them off, then using soapy water to clean stains.

Wash plastic shoes with soap and water.

2

Sort them by season and purpose. If you’ve previously been throwing all your boots, heels, and running shoes in one big pile, picking out pairs as you need them, it’s time to sort your shoes. Sorting them by season and purpose will help your closet stay organized and keep your shoes in better condition than if you just toss them all together.

Group your heels and other dress shoes together.

Plan to store your winter boots and other winter shoes in the same place.

Group flip flops, sandals and other summer shoes together.

Group your exercise shoes and casual shoes together.

3

Find a dark and temperature-controlled storage space. Shoes remain in their best condition when they’re not exposed to lots of sunlight or hot or cold temperatures. The best place to store shoes is in a cool, dark closet that doesn’t get excessively warm and stuffy. If you don’t have enough room in your closet, you could store them under your bed or on your bedroom wall.

Don’t store shoes in the basement, garage or other places that might get cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The fibers the shoes are made out of cold break down over time under these conditions.

4

Stuff them with balled acid-free paper. If you’re going to be storing shoes for a month or longer before you next wear them, stuffing shoes with paper helps them retain their shape. Just make sure it’s acid-free paper, since paper that contains acid can damage shoe materials. Avoid using newsprint, since it could discolor your shoes.

Cut up toilet paper rolls also work well.

Use shoe trees for your best shoes. If you have a pair of nice leather shoes, store them with shoe trees so they stay in tip-top condition. Shoe trees made out of cedar keep shoes smelling fresh, and they also repel moths and other bugs. Shoe trees are available at shoe stores or online.

5

Store boots upright. If you have a nice pair of boots you want to store, use boot stands to keep them upright. If the tops flop over, they could end up with a permanent crease after a few months of storage. If you don’t want to invest in boot stands, try this clever trick: use empty, dry wine bottles to keep your boots upright.

Part 2

Finding a Convenient Storage Solution

1

Have a designated mat for everyday shoes. If you and your family have certain pairs of shoes you wear almost every day, a convenient way to keep them in one spot is to have a designated mat for everyday shoes. Keep it near the door or coat rack, and have family members kick off their shoes and line them up neatly so they’ll always know where to find them.

You could also get a shoe cubby for this purpose. Reserve it for the shoes that are worn most often, like school shoes and tennis shoes.

Have a separate spot reserved for wet shoes that need to dry out. This could be a mat on a covered porch or a mat in your entryway.

2

Use a shoe rack. If you have a big collection of shoes, you’ll need a second storage area for the shoes you don’t wear very often. Shoe racks make it easy to organize shoes in a closet or along a bedroom wall. Choose a plastic or wooden shoe rack and group shoes by purpose, lining them up neatly and putting them away after each use.

If you have an old wooden ladder, consider using it to make a unique shoe rack. Just paint the ladder to match your room, then place it sideways against a wall. Line up your shoes on the rungs of the ladder for easy storage.

Another great solution is to get a wooden pallet from a home improvement store. Mount the pallet to your wall ( use a stud-finder to make sure you mount it securely with screws) and store your shoes by inserting the tips of the shoes into the slats. You might not want to use this method for your most expensive leather shoes, since it can cause creasing, but it’s great for tennis shoes, flip flops and the like.

3

Store shoes in door-hanging shoe bags. If you’re low on storage space, pick up an over-the-door shoe bag from the store and start using it to store your shoe in pairs. This keeps them off of the floor and organized so they don’t clutter up your closet floor.

4

Put them in boxes for longer storage. If you’re storing shoes that you don’t plan on wearing for a month or more, it’s best to store them in a box. You can store shoes in their original shoe boxes or use clear plastic containers so you’ll be able to see what shoes you’ve stored.

Old wine boxes are good substitutes for shoe boxes if you can’t locate a pair’s original box.

Wrap the shoes in acid-free tissue paper to keep them safe during storage.

You can also use silica gel to keep the materials shoes are made from fresh. You can purchase a container of silica gel from a craft store.

Part 3

Knowing What Not to Do

1

Avoid storing shoes wet. Don’t put shoes in their storage containers, even just a cubbyhole, until they’re completely dry. Wet shoes can get moldy in storage, plus storing them wet will make them more likely to smell bad. Place shoes in a dry, ventilated area to let them dry out completely before you store them.

2

Don’t wrap leather shoes in plastic. Leather and suede shoes need to be able to breathe while they’re in storage. Wrapping them in plastic could cause them to end up moldy or discolored. Always wrap leather shoes in acid-free tissue instead of plastic.

3

Store shoes with cedar, not mothballs. Mothballs are made with toxic chemicals that repel moths, but are also dangerous for use around kids and pets. Mothballs also have a distinctive stuffy, chemical smell that infuses anything they’re stored with and is very difficult to remove. Instead of using mothballs, store your shoes with cedar balls or cedar shoe trees. Cedar naturally repels moths, is nontoxic and leaves shoes smelling fresh.

4

Don’t stack shoes on top of one another. Many people store shoes one on top of the other to make more room, but storing your shoes this way can cause them to lose their shape over time. It’s fine to stack flip flops this way, but for any shoe that has more structure, store them side by side instead. Even if you stack them so that one shoe is upside-down, storing them this way for several months will cause them to start getting misshapen.

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Tips

Get into the habit of reviewing all your shoes once a year to check for any that require repair or that you’d like to donate to a local charity or vintage clothing shop.

Label shoe boxes with a brief description of the shoe. It will help you find what you are looking for easier.

If you’re using original shoe boxes, take a picture of the shoes inside and tape it to the outside of the box, so you know what shoes are where without having to go through every box. Where you tape the picture onto each box is up to you, but make sure that you’re consistent with each shoebox and place the pictures in a place you can easily see when all your boxes are stacked together.

Boots can be cumbersome to store because they generally come in boxes that are much larger than regular shoe boxes. Keep this in mind when you’re thinking about how to organize your space.